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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 135 (Monday, July 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38091-38092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15285]

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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without 
revision, the Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with 
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) Regulation B.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 17, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR B, by any of the 
following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as 
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove 
personally identifiable information at the commenter's request. 
Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or 
contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically 
or in paper in Room 146, 1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the 
Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. 
You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be 
required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to 
submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy 
comments.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 
452-3829.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In 
exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take 
every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to 
approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all 
comments received from the public and other agencies.
    A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, 
including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, 
and other documentation will be available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, if approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears above.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:

[[Page 38092]]

    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, 
Without Revision, the Following Information Collection

    Report title: Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated 
with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) Regulation B.
    Agency form number: FR B.
    OMB control number: 7100-0201.
    Frequency: On occasion; annually.
    Respondents: The Board accounts for the paperwork burden imposed 
under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), as implemented by the 
CFPB's Regulation B, for the following institutions (except those 
entities supervised by the CFPB): State member banks; subsidiaries of 
state member banks; subsidiaries of bank holding companies; U.S. 
branches and agencies of foreign banks (other than federal branches, 
federal agencies, and insured state branches of foreign banks); 
commercial lending companies owned or controlled by foreign banks; and 
organizations operating under section 25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve 
Act (12 U.S.C. 601-604a; 611-631).
    Estimated number of respondents: Record retention for applications, 
actions, prescreened solicitations, self-testing, and self-correction, 
Information for monitoring purposes (recordkeeping), Notifications, 
Furnishing of credit information, Information for monitoring purposes 
(disclosure), and Rules on providing appraisals and other valuations, 
851; Self-testing: Incentives for self-testing, 187; Incentives for 
self-correction, 47; and Rules concerning requests for information, 
disclosure for optional self-test, 187.
    Estimated average hours per response: Record retention for 
applications, actions, prescreened solicitations, self-testing, and 
self-correction, 0.004; Information for monitoring purposes 
(recordkeeping), 0.017; Notifications, Furnishing of credit 
information, and Information for monitoring purposes (disclosure), 
0.004; Rules on providing appraisals and other valuations, 0.008; Self-
testing: Incentives for self-testing, 0.004; Incentives for self-
correction, 0.016; and Rules concerning requests for information, 
disclosure for optional self-test, 0.004.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Record retention for applications, 
actions, prescreened solicitations, self-testing, and self-correction, 
27,344; Information for monitoring purposes (recordkeeping); 
Notifications, 27,344; Furnishing of credit information, 4,844; 
Information for monitoring purposes (disclosure), 5,998; Rules on 
providing appraisals and other valuations; Self-testing: Incentives for 
self-testing, Incentives for self-correction, and Rules concerning 
requests for information, disclosure for optional self-test, 1.
    General description of report: The ECOA prohibits discrimination in 
any aspect of a credit transaction because of race, color, religion, 
national origin, sex, marital status, age, receipt of public 
assistance, or the fact that the applicant has in good faith exercised 
any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. To aid in 
implementation of this prohibition, the statute and Regulation B 
subject creditors to various mandatory disclosure requirements, 
notification provisions informing applicants of action taken on the 
credit application, provision of appraisal reports in connection with 
mortgages, credit history reporting, monitoring rules, and 
recordkeeping requirements. These requirements are triggered by 
specific events, and disclosures must be provided within the time 
periods established by the statute and regulation.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The ECOA authorizes the 
CFPB to issue regulations to carry out the statute's purposes.\1\ The 
ECOA also directs the CFPB to promulgate regulations requiring covered 
entities to maintain records evidencing compliance with the statute for 
at least one year.\2\ These regulations impose disclosure and 
recordkeeping requirements on Board-supervised entities. Compliance 
with the recordkeeping and disclosure requirements of the CFPB's 
Regulation B is mandatory.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 1691b(a).
    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 1691b(d).
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    The disclosures, records, policies, and procedures required by 
Regulation B are not required to be submitted to the Board. This 
information would generally only be obtained if Federal Reserve 
examiners retained a copy as part of an examination or supervision of a 
bank, in which case the information may be treated as confidential 
under exemption 8 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).\3\ In 
addition, exemptions 4 and 6 of the FOIA may also apply to certain 
information obtained by the Board. Exemption 4 may apply if the 
information is confidential commercial or financial information that is 
both customarily and actually treated as private by the respondent.\4\ 
Exemption 6 may apply to information, the disclosure of which would 
``constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.'' \5\
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    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8).
    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6).
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    Consultation outside the agency: The Board consulted with the CFPB 
regarding the estimated burden of this information collection.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July 13, 2021.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-15285 Filed 7-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P
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